


our broken bodies

by meshtams



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abused Harry Potter, Aftermath of Torture, Bisexual Harry Potter, Child Abuse, Desi Harry Potter, Disability, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gay Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Injury, Love Confessions, M/M, Migraine, Nerve Damage, POC Harry Potter, Permanent Injury, Post-War, Pre-existing feelings, Tall Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29344779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meshtams/pseuds/meshtams
Summary: Harry has debilitating migraines and a bad leg, draco has nerve damage, but together they can help and love each other
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 109





	our broken bodies

It was Monday afternoon and Harry was distracted. Not super surprising given that he was in potions class, but what was different this time was the concern he was feeling. He’d been spacing out staring at his potions partner of the day, Draco Malfoy, as was essentially routine at this point, when he noticed the way the blond’s hands were shaking. He seemed to be attempting to chop the ginger root, but this was the trickiest stage of the stomach-soothing potion; the ginger had to be in tiny, even slivers, otherwise it would induce vomiting. The harder Draco tried to focus, the more violently his hands shook. Harry looked down at his own ginger- it was perfectly prepared and sitting on his cutting board. Before he could even think about it, he leaned over and switched their cutting boards, settling back onto his stool to chop up his second load of ginger. They weren’t technically allowed to sit whilst brewing, but Slughorn turned a blind eye on account of Harry’s bad knee. One of the Carrow’s had hit him with a dark curse that ripped through the muscle during the final battle, and now it was liable to give in if he stood too long, and led to him requiring a cane to get around when it flared up. Harry was so focussed on getting the second load of ginger just as perfect as the first, he entirely missed Draco’s incredulous staring. The blond almost couldn’t believe that had just happened- he had no idea why Harry had helped him.

At the end of class, Harry grabbed his cane and made his way out of the dungeons with Ron and Hermione. He was only a few feet away from the door when he was stopped.

“Potter, can I talk to you?” Draco’s hands were shoved in the pockets of his robe to hide the shaking.

Harry saw the nervous glances is friends exchanged but ignored them. “Sure.” Draco nodded and turned on his heel, heading into one of the empty classrooms.

“Why did you do that?” Harry considered playing dumb, but somehow he knew Draco would see right through him.

“Because you were struggling.” He shrugged.

“So?” Draco’s eyes were narrowed, but Harry could tell he was more confused than annoyed. It was sort of cute.

“So, you were struggling, I could help, so I did.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” Harry rolled his eyes a little.

“Because you hate me!” Draco’s face was guarded.

“No, I don’t.”

That halted Draco in his tracks, and the ‘Malfoy Mask’ he’d put up dropped in favour of a nervous, vulnerable expression that made Harry want to pull him into a hug. “Y-you don’t?”

“Nope. Not at all.”

“Oh. I don’t hate you either.”

“I’m glad.” Harry smiled to himself. “Why don’t you sit with me in class from now on and if you need me to do anything just let me know?”

Draco blushed prettily. “N-no, you don’t have to do that.”

“I know, I want to. If you don’t, though, that’s fine.” It wasn’t, of course, but he’d pretend it was.

“I’d like that, then.” Draco dropped his gaze down to his shoes, his cheeks stained pink.

Harry grinned and reached out to touch Draco’s arm lightly. “Great. Okay, I’ve got to go, I promised Hagrid I’d go see him, so I’ll see you later.” One more smile and Harry turned and left, his cane clacking on the stone floor.

* * *

The next few days, Harry and Draco didn’t only sit together in potions, but also in every other class they shared. Now that they’d (mutually and unspoken) decided to leave their rivalry in the past, it had already become a common sight to see them sitting a little too close, laughing at some funny comment the other had made. Harry went to bed on Thursday night actually looking forwards to potions in the morning; Thursdays were the one day a week he had no classes with Draco, having only Defence all day while Draco had Arithmancy and Runes, and Harry had found himself missing Draco. He’d been in love with the blond for a few years, but he hadn’t ever missed him as acutely and in as brief a time as since they started spending time together- his presence was practically addictive.

When Harry woke up from yet another nightmare on Friday morning, he stood up off of the bed only to be hit with the full force of one of his debilitating migraines, his knee twisting and buckling under him and leaving him sprawled out on the floor, still only in his boxers and one of Remus’ old sweaters- they were a few sizes too big for him, given Remus’ height, but they made comfortable sleepwear. He found it sort of ironic that even now he could afford his own clothing his wardrobe was largely made up of hand-me-downs, although Remus’ sweaters, Sirius’ t-shirts and leather jacket and a few of Ron’s old Weasley sweaters that were too short for him were definitely better than Dudley’s old cast-offs had ever been. He’d had migraines his entire life, and after speaking with Poppy over the summer had found out they had been caused by the repeated, unhealable head trauma he’d experienced from infancy to adulthood at the hands, or rather frying pan, of his Aunt Petunia. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but since the final battle his migraines had gone from severe, which he had always more or less managed to grit his teeth and work through, to entirely crippling. Hermione had a theory that it was because the horcrux had been dampening them somehow, but whatever the reason, they were terrible. They were made even worse by the fact that every single one always caused a severe flare-up in his knee, making him unable to walk even with his cane. He was laid on the carpet with his eyes closed, trying to muster up the energy to get himself back onto his bed. He knew that he’d have to do it himself or stay down here, seeing as both of his friends knew that if he didn’t turn up to breakfast it was due to a flare up, and honestly staying down on the floor was seeming like a much more appealing option. He reached out one hand and pulled his duvet down over himself, hearing it fall to the floor with a soft puff.

He wasn’t sure how long he laid there, his sense of time was always skewed when he had a migraine, but his bedroom door opened, letting in light that made Harry screw his face up painedly.

“Sorry.” He heard Draco whisper as he put something on top of Harry’s trunk gently and closed the door. “Weasley and Granger said you’d be in here. Do you need a hand?”

“Mghf, y’s pl’s. C’n’t g’t up.” His voice was muffled and slurred.

“Okay, one minute.” Draco whispered, and before Harry could even fully register what he’d said, Draco was leaning over him, whispering a featherlight charm, wrapping his long, slender arms around him and pulling him up. Harry wanted to burrow his face into Draco’s neck, because the man smelled wonderful and was warm, but he refrained. Draco laid Harry out on his bed and then leaned down and grabbed the plush duvet from the floor, wrapping it around the shorter man. He then went to the tray he’d left on top of the trunk, fetching it over to the bed. He grabbed the anti-nausea and painkilling potions he’d fetched- they wouldn’t cure the migraine but hopefully they’d help enough that Harry would at least open his eyes or eat and drink. “Here, drink this.” He uncorked the anti-nausea potion. It was the slightly stronger sibling of the stomach-soother they’d brewed on Monday. Draco smiled to himself as Harry just took it without question, and uncorked the second vial. “And this one.” He passed it over and then took both empty vials, setting them back on the tray. He then picked up the Evercool compress and put the tray on the floor by the bed, kicking off his shoes and setting onto the bed beside Harry. He pressed the compress to Harry’s forehead and adjusted them until Harry’s head was in his lap so he could rub his scalp.

Harry groaned and his eyelids fluttered. “Mm, th’nk you.”

Draco smiled softly, carding his long, elegant fingers through Harry’s thick curls and running his fingertips over his scalp in circular motions. “No problem.”

* * *

It was almost dinner by the time Harry’s migraine finally eased off, and the pair had missed all of their classes.

“Thank you for looking after me.” Harry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, sitting upright on the bed across from Draco, one leg curled under him with his bad leg stretched out, his hair even more unruly than usual thanks to having had Draco’s hands in it for hours.

“My pleasure.” Draco’s cheeks pinkened at how true that statement was. He couldn’t think of anything he’d rather have spent the day doing than running his fingers through Harry’s soft hair… well, almost anything, anyway.

“Still, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Like, being a burden and stuff.” Harry’s dark cheeks flushed red and he looked down, letting his hair flop over his face.

“Harry. No.” Draco had to physically restrain himself from calling him love. “You’re not a burden, I wanted to look after you. I’ve enjoyed today, because I like spending time with you.” ‘ _and touching you’_ he added on in his head.

“Oh. Uhm. Ok.” Harry shifted uncomfortably. He felt sweaty, and really wanted to shower, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get to the bathroom on his own- he still couldn’t move his leg at all and he wasn’t adept enough with his cane yet, as he’d only had it for a few months. “Uh, would you mind helping me get to the bathroom? I need a shower.”

Draco smiled at him. “Of course.” He stood up and made his way around to Harry’s side of the bed, pulling him up until he was leaning against him and could hobble to the bathroom. Once in there, Draco sat Harry down on the shower seat. “Okay, I’m going to go take a shower as well and I’ll be back in about 10 minutes, and we can ask a house elf to get us dinner, alright?”

Harry smiled crookedly. “Okay, yeah, sounds good.” Once Draco left he started undressing, getting ready to shower. It was much easier when he could stand, but over the past few months he’d gotten fairly adept at getting clean whilst sitting. It was only once he’d gotten washed and wrapped himself in a big, fluffy towel that he realized he hadn’t gotten any pyjamas out. Normally he’d’ve just summoned something from his trunk, but his magic was always a bit dodgy after a migraine, and his spells either came out as absolutely nothing or with far too much power. He shuddered as he remembered just after the final battle when he’d tried to summon something from his trunk and had accidentally summoned the whole thing; that had definitely worsened the damage.

“Harry? Are you dressed?” Draco knocked lightly on the bathroom door.

“Sorry, I forgot to get any pyjamas! Would you mind grabbing me some boxers and something to wear on top?” Harry called back. He felt a bit ashamed he was having to rely on Draco like this, but he also somehow instinctively knew that Draco wouldn’t mind or judge him for it.

Harry heard Draco rattling around, and at one point it sounded like his bedroom door was opened but he just ignored it. A few minutes passed and Draco again knocked on the bathroom door. “Can I come in?”

“Yep!” Draco walked through the door and Harry felt like he couldn’t look away. Usually neat platinum hair fell in soft waves over Draco’s high forehead, and he was dressed in thin grey sweatpants that showed off the round swell of his arse and a tight black long sleeve.

“Here.” He passed Harry a pair of boxers and a big, super soft grey knitted sweater that he didn’t recognize. “Shout me when you’re dressed.” He added as he made his way back out of the room, giving Harry a full look at his arse as he walked. He felt his mouth go dry watching.

The sweater came down to his mid-thigh, and it was definitely more expensive than anything he owned. He was confused for a second before he caught a smell of the collar- expensive aftershave, coffee and something citrusy. It was Draco’s. He smiled to himself and ducked his head, feeling his damp hair flop forwards. “I’m dressed!”

Draco came back into the bathroom and pulled Harry up, walking him back towards the bed. Harry leaned his head on Draco’s narrow shoulder until they reached the bed, where Harry could settle himself back down comfortably. Draco snapped his fingers and a house elf popped in with a loud crack. “Ah, Lanky, could you please get us two plates of whatever’s for dinner, a cup of my favourite coffee and a large cup of tea with extra milk and 3 sugars.”

The little house elf nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Mister Draco, Sir, Lanky be doing that right away!” They popped out only to return barely a few seconds later with a tray full. “Does that be being all, Mr Draco, Sir?”

“Yes, thank you, Lanky.” Draco granted the elf a small smile before they returned to the kitchen.

“You know how I take my tea? And the name of the house elf?” Harry reached over to grab the tea and take a quick sip.

“I know a lot of things. What I don’t know is how on earth you can stomach tea with that much sugar, but to each their own, I suppose.”

Harry swallowed. “Bad habit. Sugary tea was more or less all I could get away with taking when I was a kid.”

“What do you mean?” Draco was concerned by that.

“Uh, I didn’t really get much food as a kid. ‘S why I’m so short. I basically lived on stale bread and sweet tea ‘till Hogwarts, then during summer too.” Harry shrugged, tucking into his dinner. He did love shepherd’s pie.

Draco was horrified. “Your relatives didn’t feed you?”

“No. It’s fine though, I always get to eat now so…” He shrugged.

“Did… did they do anything else?” Draco almost didn’t want to hear the answer.

“Locked me up, smacked me about a bit.” He shrugged again, awkward. He didn’t particularly like talking about the Dursleys, but he sort of wanted Draco to know. “My bedroom ‘till Hogwarts was the cupboard under the stairs, then I had my cousins second bedroom each summer. And Aunt Petunia is the reason I get the migraines.”

“How so?” Draco knew his voice came out a bit higher than normal, and he grimaced.

“She used to, uhm.” Harry paused, wondering how to phrase it, to eat the last of his dinner. He put the empty plate back onto the tray and settled back against the headboard with his tea. “Whenever she thought I’d done something wrong, like burn their breakfast or, I don’t know, breathe too close to my cousin, she’d hit me in the head with a frying pan. Not super hard, but yeah. Poppy can’t heal it because it has been too long.” He looked down at his cup, still ashamed even now he knows he wasn’t the problem.

“Merlin, Harry.” Draco put his empty plate and cup on the tray and banished it across the room, turning to wrap his arms around Harry’s neck. “I’m so sorry.” Draco couldn’t help pressing his nose into the side of Harry’s neck and revelling in the fact he could smell his own aftershave over the smoky-sweet smell of Harry’s skin.

“Its fine, I’ve got the Weasleys and that now, so it’s not like I ever have to see them again.”

“I could always kill them for you, if you want.” Draco knew Harry would take his offer as a joke, but he was half-way serious.

Indeed, Harry barked a laugh, reaching out and putting his empty cup by the bed and wrapping his arms around Draco’s lithe form. “Thanks, but I think I’m good.”

* * *

They’d been wrapped up together for a few hours when Draco’s body started shaking, not too severely but bad enough for Harry to notice. “Are you alright?” His voice was deep and laced with concern, which made Draco melt inside.

“Y-yeah, it’s fine, this just happens sometimes.”

“Cruciatus exposure, right?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Harry ran his large, square hands up and down Draco’s back.

“Neville. Do you want to talk about it?” Harry offered.

Draco started to shake his head automatically, but then stopped and nodded- he did want Harry to know. “I guess we’ve both got shitty Aunts. Before my occlumency shields were good enough, Aunt Bella got through and found something out, and then spent the next few days torturing me for as long as she could without driving me insane.” He shuddered. “She didn’t stop until Mrs Weasley killed her. I really have to thank her for that sometime.” He smiled weakly. Harry tightened his arms, pulling Draco right against his chest.

“If Molly hadn’t already done it, I’d go out and kill her right now.” His voice was dark, and it sent a twisted thrill through Draco.

“You can’t walk, so you’d have a job.” Harry laughed at that.

“Fair point, very fair point. What on earth could’ve been bad enough to warrant that?” Harry wondered aloud, mostly to himself, and was a little surprised when Draco answered.

“That I’m gay.” Draco’s voice was small and nervous.

“That’s it?!” Harry almost shouted, tightening his arms even further and splaying his palms against Draco’s back.

“Yep, pretty much.”

“That’s ridiculous. I mean, I knew she was mental already, but Merlin. I’m definitely glad Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are muggles; I think the cruciatus would be the only spell they’d like.”

“Why did they hate you so much?”

Harry let out a mirthless bark of laughter. “They hate magic, and therefore me, they’re racist as all hell, and therefore despised me, plus I think they figured out I was queer just after third year, so that made them hate me even more.”

“You’re queer?” Draco’s silvery eyes were wide. He couldn’t believe it. The man he’d been in love with since first year liked men! And was cuddling him! “Sorry, not the part I should be focusing on.”

Harry laughed. “Yep. I’m bi. Only the Weasleys, ‘Mione and Andromeda know, though. And you now, I guess.”

“The Bi-Who-Lived.” Draco sniggered, and Harry smacked him in the head with a pillow. “Hey! What was that for?!”

“That was for making such a shitty pun!”

“My pun was brilliant, thank you very much!” Draco grabbed the discarded pillow and shifted until he was practically sat on top of Harry’s stomach, pressing the pillow onto his face.

“Draco!” Harry’s laughter was muffled, and he reached up and grabbed Draco’s wrists. Draco might be taller, but Harry was definitely stronger, and he threw the pillow across the room, flipping them over until Draco’s back was against the mattress. Draco struggled and laughed, trying to wrestle against Harry, until he just went lax and started practically giggling. Harry had Draco’s hands pinned above his head and Draco’s legs were wrapped around Harry’s waist, his face flush and smiley. It was then Harry became aware of the fact that both of them were hard and straining in their respective bottoms. His green eyes darkened, looking into the molten silver of Draco’s and Draco’s breath caught in his throat. Neither of them was quite sure which of them moved first, but suddenly they were kissing, hungrily and passionately. Harry felt his knee start to ache again and flipped them until Draco was perched in his lap, whereas he was laying down and could rest his leg whilst continuing to kiss Draco. Draco’s hands were fumbling and shaking as they grasped at Harry’s hair and shoulders, and so were his thighs where they clamped around Harry’s narrow hips, but he would be willing to put up with even the worst tremors to keep on kissing Harry.

Eventually their kisses shifted from hungry and lustful to sweet and tender, and then to light and sleepy, and that is how they fell asleep, Draco laid out on top of Harry, one of Harry’s hands resting on his lower back and the other on the back of his upper thigh, their lips still touching lightly.

* * *

They both stirred into awareness at around the same time, Harry smiling sleepily down at Draco, who’s face was pressed right into his collarbone, but his entire body was wracked with tremors.

“Mm, morning love.” His voice was thick and sleepy.

“G-goodmorning.” Draco’s teeth chattered a bit.

“Are you okay?”

Draco sat up, remaining perched on Harry’s lap, and held his hands out in front of them. They were shaking terribly, and when he tried to flex his fingers they barely twitched. “Guess n-not. I think you’re going to have to help me today.” Draco gave up and dropped back down to lay on Harry’s strong chest.

“That’s fine, sweetheart.” Draco flushed brilliantly at the pet name. “You know, I think last night is the first time since the war I’ve not had a nightmare.”

“Huh. Me too. I guess we’ll just have to sleep in the same bed forever.” Draco buried his head in Harry’s neck and groaned internally, half-waiting to be rejected.

Harry grinned. “Sounds good to me.”

Draco was surprised at that. “Really?” he looked up at Harry through his long white lashes.

Harry groaned. “Christ, you’re so pretty.” He pressed a kiss to the pointy end of Draco’s nose, which made him scrunch it up cutely. “But yes, absolutely. I love you, and that means you’re never getting rid of me.”

“I love you too. So much. Since first year.” Draco’s cheeks were red but his eyes danced with happiness.

Harry kissed him soundly. “I love you.”


End file.
